Jack Russell Takes Up For Terry Ilous

Former Great White singer Jack Russell takes up for former Great White singer Terry Ilous... and Jack's right. Like asking for a divorce over Twitter, you shouldn't fire an employee via the news media.

Ironically that happened to me and about 3,000 of my former coworkers just over a decade ago. I was at M3 Rock Festival and a reporter called me. I used to work in TV news so that reporter was also a friend. Anyway, he was calling to get a quote on why NCR, a Fortune 500 company, was leaving our city. See, I was doing PR for NCR at the time. Of course, none of us knew NCR was pulling up stakes. The news found out first, it was all over Ohio media and when work rolled around Monday, the now former world headquarters had the mood of a funeral or something. And yes, I showed up to work on Monday, after being at M3 in Baltimore and learning the news that my job was over.

So yeah, being blindsided by your employer is crappy. Especially in an intimate situation like a rock band, where you are very close to the other "employees" and you live, work, eat and play with each other for long stretches of time while on the road.

Treat people well and be wary of anyone who is a jerk boss.

Great White - Absolute Hits

Ex-GREAT WHITE Singer JACK RUSSELL Slams Former Bandmates For 'Deceitful Way' TERRY ILOUS Was Fired https://t.co/Q5brRyv254 pic.twitter.com/pc6vJb180u

— BLABBERMOUTH.NET (@BLABBERMOUTHNET) July 22, 2018

Comments

[Bob]

Band members can be your best friends, but they can also be your worst enemies. Back in 1989, it was a typical morning when the guys were coming to my house for band rehearsal, (Usually, a band will rehearse at the drummer's house because it's harder to move all of that stuff.) Anyway, the other three guys walked in, without instruments, and let me know that they had decided, without even talking to me ahead of time, that they were breaking up the band. they couldn't have been there for more than five minutes, then they left, leaving me completely blindsided, (No pun intended.) so yes, bands can be very cruel. then, back in 2002, I was working for a large .com company when that whole industry was collapsing. One Friday afternoon, people kept being called into a room, an then the door would slam. this went on all day, slam slam slam. finally, they called me in. I was informed that everyone they met with that day still had a job on Monday; and that I shouldn't come in until noon. Everybody else, when they showed up that morning, was told to turn in their keys, clean out their desks, and leave...Absolutely heartless! So yeah, we humans can be very mean to each other, especially when money and livelyhoods are at stake.

[Bkallday]

Speak for yourself, Bob. Money isn't the end all be all for me. I know its 2018 and all, and that I'm in a distinct minority, but there are still some of us around! Most ppl these days would sell their souls, mothers, & fathers, to the highest bidder. That's just another problem in our society these days. And for the record and before anyone says it, no I don't have a lot of $.

[Bob]

BK, I 1,000% agree with you. Sadly, in our society, money rules all, and it's one of the main reasons we humans are so predatory toward one another. My wie and I are not like that, and I wish the rest of the world wasn't like that either.

[Kenny Ozz]

Jack is totally classy "and right" here.

[Jimbo/Spyke]

Jack has class,,Kendall is a douchecanoe

[Gary]

Bk, I'm 100% with you on the whole money thing. There is SOOOO much more in life to worry about besides the almighty dollar. I've said for over 40 years now, if you'd eliminate greed and organized religion from the world, there'd literally be no wars in the history of civilized. Yet we continue n that same path. (Those that ignore/do not learn history are doomed to repeat it. Has there ever been a more accurate parable?). Lol

[Metalboy!]

Hear, hear!, Bob, BK, Kenny O, Jimbo/Spyke and Gary ...

Yeah, money is just a thing to me, boyz. I’ve made millions and blown millions. Right now, I’m semi-broke and I can tell you, I wouldn’t trade how I went through my money however many times I did ...

The experiences, adventures, Cadillac convertibles, 5 star Michelin / Zagat dinners, hot chicks, POINT BLANK seats at shows, The Concorde, 5 star hotels, laps around the world, Cristal, Dom, Stoli Elite, poppy-laced Thai sticks (haha!!), Ralph cashmere socks, Gucci’s, Prada, Armani, Louis, Burberry, Ralph Purple Label, Martin Logan, Fred Segal, McIntosh, Lacoste, Barney’s, all that sh*t — I wouldn’t trade it for anything! ...

I lived it up and, reflecting back on it now, I’m glad I went first class all the way! I’m working on a couple of big scores (NOT those kind, boyz, haha!!) where I stand to make a couple mil and I’m already planning how to blow it!

[fletch]

MB: go to the shrink, do not pass go, do not collect another cent.

[Allyson]

I never cared much about "things" or "stuff" and the older I get the less I care.

What matters to me now is owning my freedom. That's it. I don't want to owe anyone, anything. Eric and I just want to be footloose and fancy free!

Treat each other nice, care about the ones you love. That's life, right there. And if an employer is treating you like crap, walk away. Keep yourself in the financial position where you can walk without worry.

- Allyson

[Metalboy!]

Oh, and, as far as Russell offering Ilous his condolences, even if it is in earnest and as unconventional as that may be, it must be a lot easier to do in this case, considering Ilous can’t sing his way out of a paper bag when compared to the extraordinary vocal talent of Russell.

[Metalboy!]

p.s. Words of wisdom, Allyson! Okay, so maybe I’ll just blow half, hahaha!!!

[Him]

Metalboy!, you know that Ilous can sing. XYZ was a good, mid-tier, band. Funny thing is, Russell needed my editor given that he couldn't get Ilous's name right! But, yes, he is a bit farther down the Plant ladder. But "out of a paper bag"? Come on. That is a bit much.

That said, I think Russell's comments were heartfelt and also a bit self-interested. That isn't a bad thing though. Kendall (and Co.) treated him like crap after he treated them like crap. So why am I complaining? Because Kendall continues to act like he is above the fray and focused on positivity. The venom that came out of his camp was depressing as Russell fell, and fell, again. Yes, Russell did most of that to himself. But I don't believe Kendall is as positive as he acts. And those in the band that go along with it are no better.

Then, without much explanation, they do this to Ilous?!?! I didn't like him in the band. But I am okay with a person getting a shot, contributing to a rebooted version of a classic band (see previous posts), and doing what he needs to do.You send him packing without much explanation? You pick a good new singer, yes. Malloy is tailored-made for metal shows circa 1988. He looks good. He has good pipes. He was almost in VH. He plays a mean tambourine. But this isn't about Malloy. This is about how you all went about hiring him and firing Ilous. Malloy best watch his back and count the months and years before he is back to doing his own thing. This is another wrinkle to previous posts: should you support a nostalgia act that treats people this way? Hmm.

And, like others here, I take a stand on making money only so I can do things that matter more to me than money. I don't want to step on others. I certainly never want to be in a position where I treat others--working with me, for me, even against me--like they are beans to be counted, or metrics to be sorted and trashed. There is enough negative energy in this world. Treating others like, as the saying goes, you wish to be treated takes absolutely no extra effort. Filling your life with bile and calculation does. And it wears you down and out. Why be the thing that others hate? Why amass a fortune if you have no one with which to enjoy it?

I know. It is far more complicated than that. But I will support people (friends, family, bands even) that seem to comport with making the world better. Russell is a frail, flawed, and lessened human. He brought most of that upon himself. However, by my calculus, he is a better and more worthy man than Kendall. So I support the former and not the latter. Shame, too, as it isn't all about Kendall when it comes to Great White. But that is the thing about math. You have to subtract some if only to keep others. And I, at this point in my life, don't want to add anything to my ledger that doesn't feel worth the time.

[Badland]

https://youtu.be/ACKzBy8nOxY

[Bob]

Ilous has a great voice, albeit not the best fit for Great White. If you really want to hear Ilous's considerable pipes on display in the right setting, check out his solo album of covers, "Gypsy Dreams." He takes mostly hard rock tunes, and spins them with a Latin flavor. It's a fantastic album for kicking back on a late Summer evening with a glass of wine.

[Metalboy!]

And then there’s Mitch Malloy. Somewhere in between Russell and Ilousy both in talent and in vocal range as well as completely and utterly generic and mediocre.

All of which is why he didn’t get the gig with Van Halen, something he’ll never live down. But, hey, at least he made it over the wall and inside 5150!

Why I think Kendall should give Russell one more chance: No question, Kendall had to go through h*ll with Russell while he was facing his demons, but that’s nowhere near the h*ll Russell went through in that Rhode Island nightclub not that long ago, though granted, his h*ll was nothing compared to people who were either killed or injured on that horrific night.

But to have to live through that and then become a national pariah in the aftermath has to have been TOTALLY brutal, probably far worse than any f*ck-ups Kendall has to deal with from Russell when he was, well, f*cked up!

Since he wasn’t there that night, Kendall has never known such horror as Russell witnessed there so I believe he should try one more time to tour with Russell. It really seems like Russell is stable in his sobriety for Kendall to throw a little empathy Russell’s way and give it one more shot ... I mean, can’t you just hear it?

p.s. HIM! So, XYZ ... Yeah, I got the 80’s releases and Ilous sounds great on them but one has to wonder if his vocals were punched in or in the case of the first album, producer Don Dokken actually sang the sh*t for him ... Why do I make such outlandish statements? Because I had the displeasure of hearing Ilousy 3 times with XYZ and 5 times with Great White. Now, I can’t speak to how he was back in the day but having seen him POINT BLANK multiple times over the last several years at M3 and on MORC, I can attest to what I am claiming — his voice lacks balls, plain and simple!!! Nevertheless, his band, XYZ, did put out a couple of great sounding albums of pure 80’s Hair Metal/AOR. Songs like “Inside Out”, “Face Down In The Gutter” and “H.H. Boogie” all totally kicka*s and some of their power ballads are up there with some of THE Best Cheese Metal of All-Time!

[Him]

Ah, potentially trickery from Dokken. Imagine that Metalboy! A time when Dokken would sweeten the vocal mix for a band. It makes me think . . . and also laugh.

I was gonna bring up the Station nightclub fire. But that is a mare's nest of conflicting issues that I thought best to let lie. You are right though. That is an awful lot of weight to carry, though less than the burden placed upon those who lost loved ones.

I said it before (months ago), Malloy would have been a better choice than Cherone. Cherone is also a great singer. But Malloy had the sound and look to thread a weak needle between Roth and Hagar. He also seems to be a fairly balanced fellow, all things considered. I am not gonna hate on him his seemingly impressive genetics. That dude is 56 and he still sounds great.

I stand by my initial (and previous to this) comments: smug sobriety does not look good on Kendall. Taking Russell back would require him to do one of those things that both he and Russell are familiar with . . . making amends for wrongs done to others. In this case, the latter probably has a lot of them to make relating to his time off the wagon; the former seems to have some relating to how he acts while on the wagon, waving a glorious flag of positivity.

[Metalboy!]

Indeed, HIM. Malloy didn’t get it mainly because he was and still is a virtual unknown. He probably still has his chops at 56 because he didn’t ravage his voice on the road in the abusive way Dokken, Elliott and others did as he probably doesn’t drink or smoke and never has either.

In paper, Malloy may have been a better choice for VH than Cherone, someone who definitely has the vocal chops but lacks charisma and doesn’t look like a rockstar, more like a pugilist who lost one too many battles. VH probably thought they could bank on him because he both wrote and performed a #1 hit with Extreme. Little did they know, he was a one hit wonder.

[fletch]

Just to clarify, Mark Kendall had re-joined GW briefly and was at the Station nightclub fire. He is on Jack's left:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bknYdprA9ug

Here is an interview of him discussing it:

http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/great-white-guitarist-mark-kendall-on-rhode-island-concert-tragedy-the-people-that-were-lost-are-in-our-memories/

[Metalboy!]

Geezus! I humbly stand corrected, Fletch!

Why in h*ll did I think Kendall wasn’t there?!

Still can’t figure out why he can’t hug it out with Russell but I guess we can never truly know why that is. People can say it’s all about the money but I’m sure they would make more together than as separate entities.

Perhaps it’s more ego battles coupled with Jack’s past cray-cray that makes it impossible for Kendall to reunite with him!

[Metalboy!]

It could also be the fact that the memories of that horrific night are just too vividly compounded when they are together. And the fact that it was probably Russell who okayed the pyrotechnics with Kendall not giving it a second thought, since he was more or less a hired gun on that tour.

Still, you would like to think they could take tragedy and use it to do something right such as tour together in brotherhood as a way to heal from the scars on each of their brutalized souls since it happened.